Published: March 28, 2017 |

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Ascendant Resources Inc. has released a progress report on the ongoing optimization program at the El Mochito Mine.

For the first three weeks of March, mined and milled ore tonnes have averaged 1,745 tonnes per day, which is a good improvement from the average of 1,600 tonnes per day produced during January. Ascendant noted that several individual days have exceeded 2,000 tonnes per day of ore. When sufficient ore has been available, the mill has demonstrated in excess of 2,200 tpd processing capacity. These increases are the result of various ongoing productivity improvement efforts including increasing the utilization of current equipment. A steady ramp-up of production is expected over the coming months with the goal of reaching nameplate plant production by the end of the year.

“The past six weeks have been a critical period for the company as our team has hastened its efforts to deliver production improvements and throughput volumes. We are only at the midpoint however, and we continue to press for further advances, remaining confident that we can reach our target of 2,200 tonnes per day on a sustainable basis. While additional equipment should advance us a long way towards that goal, we remain focused on improving our maintenance programs, horizontal development towards higher-grade ore, on improving community relations, and on general cost cutting measures,” said Chris Buncic, president and CEO of Ascendant Resources.

Personal safety continues to be a top priority for Ascendant. Over the past six weeks, the company has placed an increased emphasis on worker safety training, proactive leadership oversight and has added personnel to the health and safety department to promote the programs.

Maintenance continues to be a primary focus for improvement in order to support higher, sustainable production rates. In addition to rolling out a comprehensive planned maintenance program for the existing fleet, the company has ordered new and refurbished primary equipment including two 20-tonne trucks, and two LHD loaders, which are expected to be delivered to site within the next few months. The fleet performance will remain under evaluation during the ramp up phase with additional fleet equipment and spares being purchased as may be determined necessary by the maintenance and production teams.

Efforts to improve ventilation and underground working conditions for labour and equipment is ongoing, with various improvements already been implemented. To date these initial efforts have been successful as evidenced by the reduction in temperature at the deepest part of the mine since the beginning of the year. Work continues to further improve the conditions for our workers and equipment in support of increasing productivity.

FIRST LEAD CONCENTRATE SALE

On March 9th, the company completed its first lead concentrate shipment from the El Mochito mine with the sale of approximately 1,500 tonnes of lead concentrate. This was an accelerated shipment fulfilled at the request of its offtake partner via the Port of Cortes, Honduras. Typical shipments are targeted to be a minimum of 5,000 tonnes unless otherwise requested. Ascendant received payment for the provisional invoice of 90 percent of the shipment within 5 business days.

About Ascendant Resources
Ascendant Resources Inc. (formerly known as Morumbi Resources Inc.) is focused on producing zinc, lead and silver from 100 percent owned, flagship El Mochito mine in west-central Honduras. El Mochito has been in almost continuous production since 1948. The company is evaluating producing and advanced development stage mineral resource acquisition opportunities in North, South and Central America, on an ongoing basis.

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